The present invention relates to various plasma processing apparatuses such as a plasma etching apparatus, an ashing apparatus, a film formation apparatus, and a sputtering apparatus and, more particularly, to a plasma processing apparatus excellent in terms of an improvement in uniformity of a plasma generated in the plasma processing apparatus, an increase in plasma generation efficiency, an increase in processing precision, a reduction in damage to a substrate, and the like.
Known plasma processing apparatuses are apparatuses for performing various processes such as ashing, etching, CVD processing, and sputtering in an apparatus of manufacturing a semiconductor integrated circuit. In these apparatuses, an RF induction plasma generation apparatus using a coiled antenna has been known as an apparatus for generating a plasma.
An example of this RF induction plasma generation apparatus is disclosed in European at. Appln. KOKAI No. 379828. The RF induction plasma generation apparatus disclosed in European at. Appln. KOKAI No. 379828 has a wall opposing a wafer susceptor consisting of an insulator such as silica glass, and a coiled antenna fixed on the outer surface of the insulator wall. A processing gas is ionized by an RF electromagnetic field formed by flowing an RF current through this antenna, thereby generating a plasma.
An antenna division RF induction plasma generation apparatus is also disclosed in European Pat. Appln. KOKAI No. 379828. In this antenna division RF induction plasma generation apparatus, the antenna is constituted by two set of coiled antennas in order to precisely control, over a wide range, a generation region where a plasma is generated. An RF power is applied to each antenna.
This RF induction plasma generation apparatus is used as an apparatus for a charge elimination process of eliminating the charge of a jack, a cleaning process of cleaning the wall of a chamber, an etching process, and the like.
The plasma processing apparatus of the antenna division RF induction type has a technical problem that the plasma is difficult to uniformly generate, and another technical problem that hunting occurs between the divided antennas. In addition, the etching selectivity and the etching shape must be controlled.